The Adventures of my Camaro in China

[Ashen L99]

Good to hear from ya jeph, question for ya. Is there any laws over there regarding modding the interior? Or tint? Glad to see your out and about!

[rocknroll_jeph]

Originally Posted by Ashen L99

Good to hear from ya jeph, question for ya. Is there any laws over there regarding modding the interior? Or tint? Glad to see your out and about!

Its good to hear from you too! Those are some great questions.

And because I am a teacher, I will probably over share and ramble on- sorry in advance.

As for the laws... there are lots of laws. But one thing about China is they love to change things, so I am never quite sure what the laws are at a particular moment. But from experience I am certain that windows can be tinted but there needs to be a small portion cut out to see the side view mirrors. My old car had the darkest tint I could buy and when I went in for the yearly examination I would just keep the windows rolled down and they never found out.

As for the interior, they check for safety devices like working seat belts but that's really it.

Also cops won't pull anyone over here except for random breathalyzer tests, so no one bothers modded cars except for if they need to be registered. Even then quite a few of my friends couldn't even be bothered to take their cars in for registration and just "pay a fee" to get it done, if you know what I mean...

I like to do things by the book so that's why every year I de-modify my car, get it checked up and registered then go home and put the parts back on.

[rocknroll_jeph]

A little road trip to the mountains an hour outside of Beijing. Met up with some friends, saw the great wall from a distance and really appreciated the view. All season are beautiful in their own ways.

The Verse is a little restaurant that has always been popular with the car scene and a nice stop along way up the mountain.

I didn't take any of the photos, most of my friends are photographers or artists in many different fields so my skills can't compare with how they frame the photos and can manipulate the colors.

[rocknroll_jeph]

Being a classroom teacher has its benefits, but mostly because of the amount of time off we are given. I have been on vacation since late December and still have almost one more week before we go back to school. I am trying to make use of this time by being more social and getting out. The past few years I have been stuck inside it feels good to be free again.

Yesterday I went on another road trip with my friend who owns the Rapide (and the Ram 1500) to a temple just about an hour away. That's what is great about living in Beijing, if you go into the city, it takes about an hour, but if you go to the mountains, it also takes about an hour. It was cold but the views were breathtaking. Hopefully we can get out at least once more before work starts dictating life once more.

I also recorded another video, this time I had my friends on Camaro5 in mind, I wanted to share a bit of traffic and scenery that I see day to day. It's not my best edit but I hope that you can enjoy it and let me know if you have any questions or want to share your own experiences as well.

https://www.dongchedi.com/user/1517791547759357

The good thing about not sharing on Youtube is that I can use music I like and listen to during my drive without it being flagged for copyright and taken down, or music removed from my video.

[rocknroll_jeph]

Here are a few photos from the set up of the Modified Car show before it was open to the public I took on Friday.

It's kind of like a Chinese SEMA but with more practicality involved. I'll be going over in a bit to experience the show now that it's in full swing and open to the public.

Here is a quick video I made:

https://www.dongchedi.com/ugc/articl...37080594202662

I know it's sped up, but if you pay attention to how I got in, the process is standard for China... just drive in and act like you know where you are going. I only got stopped by one security guard at an open gate. I'm not being ironic here, but I do love how safe China is, so that no security checks are required.

Sorry for the picture of a Mustang, but the owner is a pretty good guy so I included that Mustang!

[rocknroll_jeph]

More photos of the exhibition and a link to the video I made. I used my band's song, "Drive" as the background music. We usually play hardcore punk, but that is our song so we don't totally alienate the audience. Also all of our significant others say it's their favorite one of our songs. Maybe pop-punk is the way to go?

https://www.dongchedi.com/user/1517791547759357

What cars did you like? What cars did you hate? Honestly, I only put cars that I like or that belong to my friends... There were a bunch of vans and electric vehicle in the exhibition, but I didn't bother filming any of those!

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

Very cool, interesting to see how it’s done in such a distant land. I bet that was a real thrill to be able to be a part of it the way you were.

[rocknroll_jeph]

It's been a really good year so far. I went to a new to me track yesterday and there were only about 10 other cars there the whole day, so it felt like I had the whole track to myself. I recently did some adjusting to the suspension height and pre-load, in addition to fresh spark plugs and brake pads I felt that this one one of the best track days I have been to in a while.

The limiting factor was the 5 year old P-Zero tires. Even though I just have a V6, coming out of corners the traction to the rear was a bit sketchy, it wasn't until the afternoon when the track temps went up and the track dust dissipated that I could use 100% throttle on any part of the track.

Still, I felt that the car was handling amazing and I had no issues in overeating the brakes, transmission or engine like I have had in the past. And with hardly any other cars on the track I could focus on a constant line and control.

The track also holds a driving school and one of the students who used to live in the US gave me some pointers and my lap times increased by .5 seconds, and he said that my times are faster than they are in his own car. I do feel that the Camaro is a bit too big for this track, but it was really fun anyway.

Once again I made a short video and posted it on my Chinese social media. I tried to include some more driving on local roads to show you all what I have to deal with day to day!

https://www.dongchedi.com/ugc/articl...62054355828769

[rocknroll_jeph]

It's been quiet here now that I've been back to work, but this last weekend I finally got some new tires put on.

I never really liked the P Zero tires that came with the car and in 2018 when I replaced the original tires, there were no other quality options in China so I was forced to use P Zeros again. This time there are more options available so I bought the same Michelin PS4S tires that I have on my BMW back in the states.

I'm not sure about others experience with PS4s on their Camaros but so far I have been really impressed. They feel like they are softer and offer better ride quality, but also offer more traction and control.

The only downside is that they are made in the USA and they are heavily taxed coming into China so they cost nearly double what they would in the US.

I've been riding my bike to work for the exercise and saving gas money, but today I need to treat myself to a drive to work and enjoy the new car feel.

[rocknroll_jeph]

After an uneventful couple of weeks I was happy to have a long weekend and a chance to attend a car show. There were all kinds of interesting cars there, not the normal Porsches and BMW M cars that usually show up, and it was pretty fun to get some track time too. The Michelin PS4S tires have so much more grip than the P Zeros ever did, I had to adjust my driving style, and I was shocked at the difference! Can't wait to get more use out of them soon.

https://www.dongchedi.com/user/1517791547759357

I hope you all can enjoy the video I made, I realized that I didn't film most of the cars there were there, I was distracted hanging out with friends!

[morepowerjoe]

Somehow I missed all of your post since February. But now I'm all caught up. It definitely looks interesting there I love all the mountains and wouldn't mind visiting one day, just wish I could take my car there to all the tracks you have. lol.

[rocknroll_jeph]

Originally Posted by morepowerjoe

Somehow I missed all of your post since February. But now I'm all caught up. It definitely looks interesting there I love all the mountains and wouldn't mind visiting one day, just wish I could take my car there to all the tracks you have. lol.

Thanks for the comment! I can probably find a few friends to lend their Camaros out if you can visit, and the same goes for me, I'd love to take my car to the tracks you get to play on!

[rocknroll_jeph]

This weekend was a great time for me and cars. I joined the American Muscle Car Club (AMCC) and joined them with some old friends for a car show that started with gokarting and then parking in front of a huge mall in downtown Beijing where they reserved a theater to watch the newest Fast and Furious movie. As I saw the movie before, I just went home at that point, best thing as a member of the club I didn't have to pay for any of it...

On Sunday I watched the 24H of Nurernburgring. A good friend of mine was participating in the race this year and while he wasn't in the top tier, and the cameras never followed his car, it was still exciting to get updates and message back and forth when he wasn't on track.

As for the car show, it isn't much different than cars I would see in a parking lot in Michigan, but for China, seeing some 4th gen Firebirds and Camaros and a new Corvette was a treat for us here.

And as always I made a v-log of the event. If anyone is keeping score, I realize that I have used that Queens of the Stone Age song before, but it reminds me of playing Need for Speed on my PSP late a night.

https://www.dongchedi.com/user/1517791547759357

[chevy pilot]